By Belize Live News Staff: Prime Minister John Briceño is using his time in Bangkok to speak up for small countries like Belize.
As chair of the World Bank’s Small States Forum, Briceño told Taiwan’s Central News Agency that international financial institutions must consider the limited resources and administrative capacity of small nations.
He gave a real example. When Belize applied for a World Bank funded project to help small farmers adapt to climate change, the application process took so long that the country nearly missed the deadline. Briceño had to personally ask for an extension.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the cost of serving Belize’s population of about 420,000 spread across 196 small communities, where providing water, electricity, education and health care is a constant balancing act with a limited tax base.
He pointed to sargassum as another pressing challenge, threatening tourism across the Caribbean and requiring regional solutions.
Briceño said his goal is a free, democratic Belize with a strong economy that can provide for its people.
The Prime Minister returns to Belize on Sunday, October 18.
